Health Policy Commission Convenes Annual Cost Trends Hearing to Confront Rising Costs and Explore Opportunities for Reform; Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell appoints Ashley Blackburn to HPC Board
BOSTON — Today, the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC) convened the annual Health Care Cost Trends Hearing, The Affordability Imperative: Securing a Sustainable Health Care Future, kicking off with new data on the health care affordability crisis. The HPC found that, including out-of-pocket spending, the average total cost of health care for a Massachusetts family exceeded $34,000 in 2025 annually, or $2,846 per month. Family health insurance premiums in Massachusetts have grown from $7,000 per year in 2000 to nearly $30,000 in 2025, among the highest in the country.
Rising costs pose significant challenges for residents. A recent poll found health care affordability is the top worry among households across the country, and in Massachusetts, 28% of residents reported that they or a family member had an unmet care need due to the cost of care.
Key Affordability and Cost Drivers Findings:
- Family health insurance premiums in Massachusetts have grown from $7,000 per year in 2000 to nearly $30,000 in 2025, among the highest in the country.
- 2025 premiums exceeded $41,000 for 10% of families.
- Including out-of-pocket spending, the average cost of health care for a Massachusetts family exceeded $34,000 in 2025 annually, or $2,846 per month.
- Premiums grew 38% from 2019 to 2025 (vs 28% in the rest of the U.S.) and would reach $50,000 by 2032 at recent rates of growth.
- From 2010 to 2025, growth in health insurance premiums (103% cumulative growth for employee premium contribution and 97% for total family premiums) far exceeded growth in household income (68% growth) and inflation (45% growth).
- Total health care spending growth in Massachusetts averaged 3.5% from 2012 to 2019, but has risen to 5.3% from 2019 to 2024.
- From 2022 to 2025, health insurance premiums grew twice as fast (8.3%) as household income (3.9%) in Massachusetts, leaving families with less to spend on other necessities and priorities. This was also true, but to a lesser extent, in the rest of the country where premiums grew 6.2% and incomes grew 4.3%.
- Health care costs greatly exceed housing costs in some regions of Massachusetts, particularly Western Massachusetts, and health care in Massachusetts is least affordable on the Cape and in the central and western parts of the state.
Health Care Cost Trends Hearing Agenda and Panels
The 2026 Health Care Cost Trends Hearing offers an important opportunity to convene and discuss these pressing issues challenging the stability and sustainability of our health care system, including the consumer affordability crisis, workforce constraints, financial volatility, high prescription drug costs, and persistent health disparities.
This hearing brings together industry leaders, policymakers, clinicians, and community members to reflect on the policy reforms necessary to advance the Commonwealth’s health care affordability, access, and equity goals, including the recommendations put forth by the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Health Care Affordability Working Group (HCAWG).
Panels include:
Beyond the Numbers: Real World Perspectives on Health Care Challenges
- Leslie Diaz, HelpLine Director, Health Care For All
- Mimi Gardner, MPH, MA, Vice President and and Chief of Community Partnerships and Health Impact, NeighborHealth
- Victoria Selser, Epidemiologist, City of Fitchburg Health Department
- Michael Wilson, PharmD, Pharmacist and Owner of Crawford Drug, President of the Board, Massachusetts Independent Pharmacists Association
A Sustainable Safety Net: Focus on Access, Coverage, and Equity
- Peter D. Banko, President and CEO, Baystate Health
- Alastair Bell, MD, MBA, President and CEO, Boston Medical Center Health System
- Brenda Rodriguez, MBA, CEO, Lynn Community Health Center
- Ryan Schwarz, MD, MBA, Massachusetts’ Medicaid Director and Assistant Secretary for MassHealth
The Right Care in the Right Place: Innovative Partnerships for Better Outcomes and Lower Costs
- Susan Coakley, President and CEO, Aspire Health and Community Services
- William Tollefsen, MD, MSc, MBA, FAEMS, Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, EMS and MIH Medical Director, South Shore Health
- Lisa Felci Jimenez, MSN, RN, LSW, Director of Clinical Services, Mystic Valley Aging Services
- Chris Mauro, LICSW, CCM, Director of Social Work and Case Management, MelroseWakefield Hospital
Responding to Health Care Cost Growth: Trends, Tradeoffs, and Policy Solutions
- Niyum Gandhi, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Mass General Brigham
- Patrick Gilligan, President and CEO, Point32Health
- Joseph M. Shields, Esq., CEO, Transparency Rising
- Michael Valenta, Chief Strategic Customer Officer, Johnson & Johnson
- Matthew Veno, Executive Director, Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission
A Call to Action: A Leadership Agenda for Health Care Affordability
- Sarah Iselin, President and CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
- Audrey Morse Gasteier, Executive Director, Massachusetts Health Connector
- Diana Richardson, President and CEO, Merrimack Health
- Christina Severin, President and CEO, Community Care Cooperative (C3)
AGO Appoints HPC Commissioner Ashley Blackburn
Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell appointed Ashley Blackburn, Deputy Executive Director of Health Care For All, to the HPC Board. Ashley brings 15 years of experience in public policy, consumer advocacy, and nonprofit leadership. Before joining HCFA, she served as Policy Manager at Community Catalyst, worked at the Ohio Legislative Service Commission as the primary Staff Attorney for the Insurance Committee of the Ohio House of Representatives, and was an appointed Consumer Representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Commissioner Blackburn fills the statutory role of a Board member with demonstrated expertise in health care consumer advocacy.
“Ms. Blackburn’s experience as a consumer advocate and her expertise in advancing affordability and health equity will make her a strong asset to the Health Policy Commission,” said Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell. “I look forward to working with her to continue lowering costs for patients in Massachusetts and strengthening our healthcare system.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Ashley Blackburn to the HPC’s Board of Commissioners. Ashley brings 15 years of experience in public policy, consumer advocacy, and nonprofit leadership to this role, and we look forward to her partnership in pursuing the HPC’s mission of more affordable, equitable, and accessible care for all of the Commonwealth’s residents,” said HPC Chair Deborah Devaux.
“The work of the Health Policy Commission has never been more critical as rising health care costs force people across Massachusetts to choose between getting the care they need and paying for other necessities like rent and groceries. Throughout my career I have remained dedicated to building an equitable health care system that is accessible and affordable for everyone,” said HPC Commissioner Ashley Blackburn. “I am extremely grateful to Attorney General Campbell for this appointment and look forward to bringing the consumer perspective to the important work of the Health Policy Commission.”
Watch the Cost Trends Hearing live and explore presentations, the agenda, and other materials on the HPC’s website.
